Torpedo guard



March 27, 1928.

J. GREENWICH TORPEDO GUAR D Filed Sept. 27, 1920 '7 Sheets-Sheet l I n1J5 6 4 ll A 6 m INVENTOR March 27, 1926. 1,664,167

J. GREENWICH TORPEDO GUARD Filed Sept. 27, 1 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORMarch 27, 1928. 1,664,167

J. GREENWICH TORPEDO GUARD Filed Sept. 27, 1920 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTOR J. GREENWICH March 27, 1928.

TORPEDO GUARD Filed Sept. 27, 1 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 o E E ill INVENTQRMarch 27, 1928. 1,664,167

J. GREENWICH TORPEDO GUARD Filed Sept. 27, 1 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 O U DO 000006C? 6060 u H F i 2 INVENTOR Marh 27, 1928;

J. G REENWIC H TORPEDO GUARD Filed Sept. 27. 1920 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6INVENTOR March 27, 1928. 1,664,167

- T. GREENWICH 'ronmano GUARD Filed Sept. 27. 1926 7 Sheets-Sheet 7INVENTOR Patented Mar. 27, 1928.

JOHN GBEENWICH, or "rnnivwo'on, IDAHO.

'ronrnno ocean.

Application filed September 27, 1920. Serial No. 413,066.

This device relates to new and useful improvements in shields for shipsof war, as well as for ships of commerce in time of war, and theprincipal object of the invention is to provide means to intercepttorpedoes and the like and to remove them away from the ship.

Another object of the invention is to provide a submerged shield made upof a plu rality of individual members, each member having an explosivein a cartridge associated therewith and adapted to be exploded by energyof water, driven by a quick moving torpedo, with some help or withoutany help of energy of the moving torpedo striking the yielding andentangling nets, that are associated with separate shields and areplaced in front of the same. The force of this explosion will break thewood shield, made not very strong and especially designed for a breakagein middle, thus giving a passage to the gases and the gas drivencurrents of water to act upon the torpedo to remove the same away fromthe ship.

The explosion of the torpedo will probably not occur at all, because theprimary action on the war head of the torpedo will be a comparativelymild one, on account of the protective nets held by coil springs infront of every shield and on account of the yielding of these springs,and nets, and shield under energy of water driven by the moving torpedo,or under energy of the torpedo itself, and on account of entangling bythe nets the firing mechanism of the torpedo, thus stopping a revolutionof the fan of the torpedo and consequently locking the firing mechanismof the torpedo.

The torpedo can not explode by a shock, because of before mentionedprimary mild action on the torpedo and because the device is soconstructed that the currents of water, as well as the broken parts ofthe device, will get at first side movements and may exert only a sideaction on the torpedo. -Be sides this, these broken parts, moved by theforce of explosion, are constructively protected by the nets, by thesprings holding these nets, and by diagonal bars which are not heavy andare hardened like springs. The more heavy piece, driven by the force ofexplosion, i. e., the piston is constructively protected by canvas andby two layers of snock absorbing watertight compound.

Movement away of the torpedo with some side impulse, due to anoncoincidence in most "ases of a longitudinal axis of the torpedo withthe direction of the resultant of forces, generated by an explosion ofthe cartridge or the cartridges, may give the ship a possibility ofpassing the torpedo, and if the deflected torpedo shall. hit the shipagain, it will be moved and forced to the side again. Besides this, themere process of forcibly removing the torpedo will probably disturb theintricate mechanism of the torpedo, thus putting it out of order.

Even it the explosion of the torpedo does occur, this explosion can notoccur close to the ship, because an earlier explosion of the cartridgeas well as some difference in the times of explosion of: the charge inthe oartridge and of the 'reat mass oi dry and wet guncotton of thetorpedo will gain some time. and this gained time will allow theremoving of the torpedo to some distance, and even if this distanceshall not be far enough, the final result of the explosion of thetorpedo will be considerably diminished in force and in time by theexplosion of the adjoining shields, by the counteractions of thecurrents of water from the explosion of the torpedo and ot thecartridges, and by the diminution of the fulcrum for the torpedoexplosion, due to the gases from exploded cartridges.

Because the bulls of some ships may not; be strong enough to withstandthe effect or effects of explosions of the cartridges, these hulls canbe strengthened, if it should be necessary.

The resistance of the yielding parts of the device can be so calculatedthat it will prevent the explosion of the cartridges from the common seawaves. A. special contrivance locks the device, thuspreventinp; anexplosion from some powerful sea waves.

Separate torpedo guards are fastened to the separate planks of wood, andthese planks are fastened to the hull of the ship by a tow screw bolts,thus making an adjustment of the device an easy and a' quick job.

The invention also consists in some other features of construction andin the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to behereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawingsand specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing my invention in detail, reference will be had to theaccompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like plunger.

or corresponding parts throughout the sev-- porting the frame" and: ofmeans to fasten the" nets to the frame;

Figure 51is' a front View of means to operate the" locking cont rivance'from lnside of shlp.

Figuretis a sectional view of'pushbolt that holds a in position thelever for locking and unlocking of the'device.

Figure 7' is a front view of one of the shields with the frame, bearing;the nets,reposing on springs fastened toithe shield', the netsbBiHgTShOWPbIOkGH ofi.

V'Figure Sis a section on line M-N of Figure'7.

Figure 9 is a detail of head for the Figure 10 is an enlarged verticalview of the essentiahparts of the device with:

details.

Figure 1 1 is anenlarged' sect-ionali view of the'cart'ridge mechanismof" the device.

Figure 12 is'two views of a metal plate of the" shield. V

Figure '13 is enlarged views of the collars with locks.

Figure 14 is an enlarged: sectional view of the cartridge to' show thegrooves for .grease and the flanged ring of variable strength-H Figure15 is an enlarged. sectional view of thercylinder for plunger,showing-the grooves for grease, the hole for lock, and the valve openingfor the outlet of the water.

My present invention is a further unprove'ment and a reductloni to "thepractice of my torpedo guards, filed at the office- March 15, 1918,Serial No. 222,682;

In accordance with my present marking of the drawings, 1 indicates thehull: of ship and 2 theplanksto which the separate torpedo guards;arefastened; 3-indicates-the principal wood plank of separate shields.

The shields girdf'the liull of ship like a belt and thickness and depthof such belt is dependent on the principles of torpedo attacks. 4, 5,and 6 indicate correspondingly thestrips of wood: reinforcing theprincipal wood plank 3 of the shields'at edges and: in

center; These strips of Wood are fastened to the principal wood plank ofthe shield by wood screws A, or: by similaraneans.v

The wood shield is designed to be broken by the force of explosion ofthe" cartridge to give a passage to the gases and the gas drivencurrents ofwater to act upon the torpedo. It is made not thick and isconstructed not. very resisting the breakage byforce acting from behind,i. e., the explosion. of a cartridge, but greatly resist ing the forcesacting on it in front, i. e., the sea waves. The thickness about oneinch for the principal wood plank 3 and the same thickness'forreinforcing strips of wood 4, 5, and 6 is most suitable for ordinarypurposes. I prefer to use spruce, wllichis veryflexible, not heavy,and-is less liable to be split by action of sea waves. The sizeof theshield must correspond tor the size of torpedoes and torpedo driven:currents of waiter.v I prefer to use theshieitls with an area less thanan areaoif the cross section. through the war headof a torpedo, toinsure a more full action of the-driven by the torpedo current of water,and on account of a lessresistance andla better yield' 1 ing of waterbehind a smaller shield. At the'time of an explosion of a cartridge, on

account ot'the inertia of the borderparts of the: shield and-2 owingrtothe greater constructiveresistance of the border. parts, the shield\VillllGblOkEIL at-middle and broken parts; on account of resistance ofthe" border parts, will get a turning moment that will remove theseparts at the sides thus giving: a": passage to the gases and to the"driveniby the gasescurrents of water to1act upon thetorpedo;

The wood shield: is protcctedin front by three orr morerows of nets -7,8,and 9, composed of interengaging rings to entangle the fixingmechanism of thetorpedo. For this purpose the sizes of rings arediflerent;

The rings offnet in front are about 2inches in internal diameter, thenext ones about 1 inch, and the'last ones about inch;

The nets are held imposition by nine coil springs 10, oneatqeach corner,one at center, and four between corners;r said nets are fastened by thewires B to the frame 11, which. is made from spring, pieces hardenedlike springs to--prevent a bending of said pieces. The frame isconnected to thesprings 10'by eyes 11 andll" at the ends of spring.pieces 11. To make this possible the front. ends of springs 10 areshaped in eyes 12 to receive eyes 11 and 1.1 of the :frame 11; Otherends of the springs 10 are fastened: to thereinforcing strips of wood.4, 5, and 6 by thenuts I3, and for this purpose the ends of the springs10 adjoiningto the strips of wood are enlarged straight pieces 14 andbear threads to l receive'the'nuts 13;

i The wood shields, aswell as the netsconnected to thennare spaced apartsufficiently to' permit both of them to have movements independent ofthe other shields and their nets.

Each separate shield is yieldingly connectecl with the hull of ship by.means of iii) plungers 15, made preferably from spring steel pieceshardened like springs to prevent a. permanent bending of these pieces.Ono plunger is connected to each corner of the principal wood plank 3 ofthe shield, and said plungcrs slide in cylinders 16 fastened to theplank 2 by wood screws 17 and in working order passing through the hullof ship 1 and through a flanged piece 18 fastened to the hull of shipfrom inside by the screws 19. The heads of the plungers are conical nuts20, sunk in the principal wood plank of the shield and receiving thecorrespoi'iding threads on the front ends of the plungers 15. Recesses21 in these nuts are intended to receive the forks of a nut driver. Theconical form of the nuts is chosen here to facilitate the breakage oithe shield un derthe action of the force of an explosion of thecartridge; I

A waterproof lining 22 around the cylinder 16, composed of canvas 01'some other stuff. is thoroughly saturated with wax and tallow compound.or the like, to prevent a passage of water into the ship. The end of:the cylinder 16 is kept closed by a screw bolt- 23 which can be removedin time of greasing of said cylinder. A hole 24 with an opening 24' inthe lower side of the cylinder 16 is an outletior water, it some shouldenter into said cylinder, and this hole will be automatically .closedafter firing of the device by a valve 26, owing to a considerable pressure of sea water under certain depth upon said valve. A coil spring 27one end of which 27 is screwed. into the valve 26 and another 27 intoring supporting said spring screwed into the hole 24 of the cylinder16,thus holding the openingfla open in an ordinary condition. Longitudinalgrooves 28 inside of the cylinder 16 are intended'to receive some kindof half solid grease thus alleviating the sliding of the plungers 15.

In the center of each shield is located a plunger 29 which at its innerend is provided with a piston 30 that can slide in a cylinder 31.Longitudinal grooves 32 inside of said cylinder are filled with somekind of half solid grease to produce an easy sliding of the piston 30.Saidpiston also possesses a circumferential groove 33, filled wit-hamixture of tallow and hemp cut into very small pieces to facilitate asliding of this piston, as Well as for the purpose to keep moisture awaylroin the cylinder 31.

The cylinder 31 is provided with a reduced extension 31 which terms thecar tridge part oi the device and in which is lo cated the explosivecharge 34. The end of this extension its in the socket 35 and isren'io-vably held therein by screw bolts 36, locked in position by pins37. Said socket is fastened to the plank 2 by screw bolts 41. and theplank 2 is fastened to the hull of ship 1 by four screw bolts 42. It isapparent that the construction of fastening the separate torpedo guardsto the separate planks of wood makes an operation of fixing,

the explosive charge and the "ap perfectly dry I place a film C 01 pitchand wax compound. or the like, directly over the plate 38 and cover thisby a layer of cement D. I also locate a packing ring 43 of rubber, orthe like, in a recess formed in the plate 38.

A second shoulder 31 is formed in the cylinder 31 and a coil spring 44has one end seated against said shoulder and its other end seatedagainst the bottom of the piston 30 to hold it in its forward position.The piston being prevented from leaving the cylinder by a flanged ring45 secured to the enlarged end 31" of the cylinder 31 by screw bolts 46.The piston 30 is provided with a firing pin 17 which when said pistonmoved in *ardly will come in contact with the expl sive cap 39 and willexplode the same.

The mentioned flanged ring 45 possesses the flanges a5 and 45 unequal inthickness, and the thickness is gradually increased from one end to theother. At the time of ex plosion ot the cartridge and of breakage ofsaid ring by the piston 30 the less thick. say upper part of the ring,will be broken first and the opposing resistance of stronger lowerpartwill generate a turning moment of the piston, say down below, and. theaction of the weight of the piston will help this downward movement ofthe same, thus giving a ')assage after breakage of the shield, to thegases and to the driven bv the gases currents of water to act upon thetorpedo to remove the same away from the ship.

The wood shield is reinforced by a plate ot a soft metal 48 to hold thewood parts of the shield together, in case said parts shall be split bytl raction of sea waves. I prefer copper reinforcing plate painted withsome waterproof paint. liiecause such plate will not be much corroded bythe sea water and will also more easily yield under action of force ofexplosion of the cartridge; To tacilitatc the yielding of the plate atits middle and a. breakage of the shield at middle part for the purposeof opening a passage to the products of explosion to act upon thetorpedo, said plate possesses rows of holes 41-9 at its middle portion,as it is shown in the Figure 12.

The bars 50 behind the plate 48 extend lit) 1 the spring steel and arehardened like springs.

Both the cylinders 16 and 3-1 I make watertight; Cylinder 16 bya-mixture 53 of by' screw. bolts 59;

tallow with hemp, cut into very small' pieces, and cover this mixture bya waterproof canvas 54?, fastened to the "flange of said cylinder bybefore mentioned wood screws 17. The cylinder 31 by a layer 55-of pitch,wax, and tallow compound, covered by a waterproofcanvas 56, and by aninner, layer of mixture 57 of tallow and hemp, cut into very smallpieces, and cover this mixture by 'awaterproof canvas 58. Both canvasesarefastened to the flange of said cylinder Said watertight cover of thecylinder-31 is of a considerable thickne'ss for the, watertight purposeas well. as fortlie purpose of a shock. absorbing coveringforthe'piston30, in case said piston'at the time of explosion ot'the cartridge willhit the torpedo.

A. leakage at place of. the screw bolts 40 holding the plate 38 Ipreventby a pitch and Wax compound 60 covered by acanvas "'61 and held in placeby screw bolts 62.

For the explosive charge I prefer to use the kinds that belong to thequick acting explosives and. at the same time are least detonated byshocks and not very afiected by moisture. It is apparent that the usegive also some surplus of power, that will remove the water and thetorpedo to some distance away from the ship.

Thepractice shows that the rate of burning gas from a certain explosivedepends upon the size of grains used, upon the area of burning surface,upon the pressure, and upon the temperature. vTo shorten a duration ofburning of the explosive to gain some time, in case the explosion of thetorpedo will actually occur, I prefer to use a of the explosive chargeis constructively made not small, and the effect-can be increased by asufficient quantity of a good" and effective detonators Thepressure ofgases is here a favorable condition, because of a considerableresistance of the piston 30 owing to the flanged ring 45, which must bebroken to give way to the said piston.

The final result will be also increased by the resistance of water.

The resistance of the spring 44 inside of the cylinder 31 must be socalculated that combined with the resistance of the sliding" parts ofthe device and with the resistance of 'water behind the shield, it willhold the pressure of water at a certaindepth and will resist the commonsea waves, but will yield under pressure of? the energy of the waterdriven by a quick moving torpedo.

To prevent an explosion oi the cartridges in rough seatrthe devicep0ssesseslocksfor the plnngers 15, which arebolt pieces 63 hearingthreads 63' near heads '63 to screw these pieces intocoll'ars-644embracing the cylinders 16. These bolt shaped locks may slide inholes 65 of the cylinders-I6, and the direction of this sliding is madeperpendicw lar to the sliding of theiplungers 15. Ad-

joining collars 64 are knuckle joined'by pins 64; locked by cotter pins64. Links 66 between couples ofcollars and links 67adjoin ing-the firstcollars are intended to relieve the possible strains upon the looks 63.66, 66", and 67 are pinsand 66, 66", and 67 are cotter pins for knucklejoints of these links with collars. Links 67 are joined witha horizontalbar'68 by means of knuckle joined links 69 and 70' with pins 69", 69,and 70 and cotter pins 69", 69"", and 70". Links 70 contain cylindricalparts 7 1, which can slide in the tened to the hull ofship 1 by woodscrews 73. Said sliding secures a parallel motion of the bar 68 underthe'action'of the lever 7 4" pillow blocks 72fasoperating said bar bymeans of intermedimy links 7 5 and 7 6'. 77 and 78 are pins, 79

and 80 are cotter pins for knuckle joints of these links. A pin 81 withacotter pin 82 knuckle joins link 7 6 with the operating lever 74. Abracket- 83 with forks 83' is.

knuckle joined with the operating lever 74 and said bracket is fastenedto the hull of ship 1 by Wood screws 84'. A pin: 85 with a cotter pin 86is an axis ofrotation' of'the operating lever 74. A spring 87 isintended to facilitate the movements of said lever. This of the spring87 are shaped in eyes 87 and i 87" to receive'the'before mentioned eyes88 (ill and 91. It is apparent that a moving of the operating lever 74:down will be an easy job owing the considerable weight of the bar 68 andof the other movable parts of the locking contrivance. Toraise the leverit will be necessary to overcome, besides the iriction of the movingparts, the weight of the bar -68, as well as a weight of the othermoving parts of the locking contrivance, and the spring 87 performs agreater part of this job, and the resistance of this spring can be socalculated that a downward and an upward motion ot the operating lever74 will not be a hard job.

A push bolt 93, held in position by a coil spring 94, can slide in acylindrical hole of a flanged pipe 95. A flange 95 is intended forfastening this pipe to the hull of ship by screw bolts 96, and an innerfial'ige 95 is intended to stop forward movement of said push bolt. Abottom part of the flanged pipe 95 contains a screw bolt 97 intended asa base tor the spring 94;. The push bolt 93 .is constructed to receive ahole 74 in an enlarged end 74' of the lever 74- and to hold this leverin its locking or unlocking position. 1 denotes the locking position ofthe push bolt and F the unlocking position of the sai'ne.

()ne turn oi. the lever 74 locks or rmlocks the many vertical rows ofthe shields. The number of shields locked by single turn of the lever islimited only by the curvature of the ship, by a practicability and anaccuracy oi lnindling, and by a human force. I prefer to use for thelocking a human force, as more intellectual and more sensitive than amachine force to prevent damage or putting the device out of order.

A resistance of the coil spring 44, inside of the cylinder 3]., as Wellas a, resistance of the sliding parts of the device, may becorrespom'lingljy calculated, as was before mentioned. and the lockingwill. be necessary only at rough sea and in case of a storm, andpractice shows that in time of a rough sea or a storm the torpedo attackfrom submarines, torpedo boats, and even from large war ships is,generally speaking, unsuccessful and lots of times is not possible atall. Besides this, the locking contrivance is so constructed that forfew men only a very short time will be necessary to unlock the device incase of a necessity.

It will be seen that a shield is provided which girds the hull of shiplike a belt and said shield made up of a plurality of independentshields; Vhen driven by a quick moving torpedo the current of waterstrikes one or more separate shields, said shield or shields by energyof water alone, or with some help of an energy of the torpedo, strikingthe yielding nets in front of the shield, will be forced inwardly, theplungers slid ing in the cylinders and the firing pin 4.7 of

the piston 30 will explode the cap 39, thus firing the explosive 34 inthe extension 31.

The most effective range for torpedo attacks is one half mile or less,and fired at this distance the torpedo possesses a great velocity, about30 miles per hour, and drives the current of water with considerablevelocity and consequently with considerable energy. The energy of movingmatter is a great mechanical factor, and this factor,as it is confirmedby an action of the hydraulic ram, is capable of overpowering aresistance of Water in a comparatively calm condition. Because theseparate shields, as were mentioned before, are small ones somethingabout one foot square, and the distance of the firing pin 47 from theexplosive cap 39 is constructively made small, and a Watertight coveringon the front part of the cylinder 31 is constructively shapedparabolically, or the like, and the energy of water driven by a quickmoving torpedo is a great one, a side yielding oi the water behind theshield will readily take place, and under action of the energy of thedriven by the moving torpedo current of water, with some help or withoutany help of the energy of the torpedo, striking the yielding nets infront of the shield, will occur an explosion of the charge 34 in thecartridge 31, as was explained before. The resultant gases will forcethe piston 30 outwardly, and because the flanged ring 45, as was beforementioned, possesses the flanges and 45 of unequal strength, a lessstrong, say upper flange, will be broken first, and the resistance of astronger lower flange will generate a turning moment of the piston 30,that will remove it to the side, say down below, anda weight of thepiston will help this downward motion of the same. It is apparent, too,that the broken flanges 45 and 45 will be removed to the sides by agenerated turning moment of these pieces at the time of theirbreakage.Owing to the inertia of the border parts of the shield and owing to aless constructive resistance of a middle part of the shield than theborder parts, the wood parts of the shield, as well as the metal plate48 of the shield with the holes 49 at its middle part, will be broken atmiddle, and the broken parts on account of a greater resistance of theborder parts will generate a turning moment, that will remove theseparts to the sides, thus opening a passage to the gases and to thedriven by the gases currents of water to act upon the torpedo to removethe same away from the ship. Because the longitudinal axis of thetorpedo in most cases does not coincide with the direction of theresultant of forces, gen erated by the explosion of cairtridge orcartridges, the torpedo will get not only a forward impulse it will getalso some side impulse.

The explosion of thetorpedo will probably not occur at all, owingto thespecial construction of war head cit-torpedo with its'firing pin,whiskers, and revolving fan, owing to the yielding and entangling nets7, 8, and 9 in front of every shield, and owing to a-hcor nparativelymild primary action of the gases and of thrown by gases currents ofwater;,said mild action willv be caused by primary counteractions ofcurrents of water driven by the moving torpedo and byan explosion of thechargel34. associated with every shield; at the time of saidcounteractions of currents of water will be some comparatively calmcondition oi? currentsot water, which probably will check the revolutionof the fan 01' the torpedo, if this revolution shall not be affectedpositively before by the exit-angling nets 7, 8, and 9. It. is a wellknown fact that used at pres ent torpedoes are dangerous only when theyare'actually underway. vIn a restful con dition, as well as in a caseoi? not quick enough motion, the little tan prevents the firing pin fromdriving in. The motion of thetorpedo through water causes this fan torevolve, and after the torpedo has reached a certain speed, will compelthe fan to spin itself oil", thus releasing the tiring pin froni itsrestraining position. When a torpedo travels with a velocity of 25 to &0miles per hour, the 'trontpart oi the firing pin is subject toconsiderable pressure, which 'must be constructively restrained to avoidan ex plosion oi the torpedo while under way. To secure an explosion ofa moving torpedo it mustmeetsome solid object, which will concentrateinstantly a great energy of the mow ingitorpedo on the firing pin. Inthe considered here case the powerful energy of the water driven by themoving torpedo will diminish the confrontin resistance of the r i D coilsprings 10 associated with the shield and will in many cases explode thecharge 34 in the cartridge 31 just before the torpedo itself will reachthe nets 7 8, and 9, and if the torpedo itself does reach said netsbefore an explosion of the suddenexplosive 34L in the cartridge 31, thefiring mechanism'of the torpedo willrbe entangled in time of yieldingthe nets vas well as the coil springs 10 holding these nets and the coilspring 44 insideojt the cylinder 31, and the result will be a. lockingof the firing mechanism of the torpedo, owing to a stopping or aretarding of revolutions of the re volving fan of the firing mechanismof the torpedo.

An explosion of the torpedo may notalso occur from a shock because, aswas explained before, the piston will be removed to the side, and theprotective nets 7, 8, and 9, as well as the springingdiagonal bars 50,will constructively separate the war head of the torpedo from the piston30.

Besides this, the front part. of the piston 30, as was mentioned before,is covered with the canvases '56 and 578 and by .two layers and 57 of asoft. andshock absorb ing watertightcompound. r

Removingthe torpedo'to the side willlgive the ship the possibility'ofpassing said top pedo, and will hit the ship again, it will "be removedagain. Besides this, a mere;process.ot forcibly removing the torpedowill probably disturban intricate mechanism of the same, an adjustmentof the hydrostatic piston, pendulum, or even the Obry gear which is aconiplicated contrivance too, and this disturbance will probably lessenthe danger from the torpedo. a v v If the explosionof the torpedo doesactually occur, this explosion may not occur close to the ship, because.a dilference intimes of explosion of the cartridge of the :device and ofwar head ot the torpedo, as well as the use tor the*artridgeofan'explosive very quick acting. and of a sufficient quantityof a good and effective detonator, will gain some time, as was mentionedbefore, and this gained than will allowa removing-oit-th'e torpedo tosome distance away from the ship, and even it this distance shall not befar enough, the final result of theeaplosion (it the torpedo will beconsiderably dimin-- ished in torce and in time by an explosion oi theadjoining shields, by counteractions oi currents of water from bothexplosions ot the torpedoand of the cartridges of 'the device, and by adiminution ofi'he tulcruin for the exploded torpedo, due to the gases'troin exploded cartridges. v

If by action of some one factor some 'artridgcs do explode and there isno time to put new ones, the danger from torpedoes is prevented by atact that the size of separate nets and associated with them shields isless than the size of a cross section through the war head of thetorpedo, and the adjoining members will protect the ship from torpedoes.

Before a great storm .it will be better to remove the torpedo guardsfrom the ship,

and this operation onv account of beforementioned constructive featuresof the device is an easy and a quick job. Strictly speaking. there is anecessity to keep steadily the tor pedo guards around the ship only inwar time or before a battle and at all other times the guards may beremoved from the ship and stored in someplace close to thehull of shipfor a convenience in handling of the same. Because separate planks 2 towhich the separate torpedo guards are fastened are combined with thecylinders 16, fastened to the plank 2 by the wood screws 17,. at the tme of removing of said guards :from the ship an undesirable hole will beproduced in the bullet theship, and all such holes must if the torpedoso removed.

llii

be immediately closed by a cover 98,' supplied with a strip of leather99 and a hinge 100, that enables said cover to revolve m a verticalplane. A screw bolt 101 at the end of the cover 98 can press snug andwatertight the mentioned cover to the flanged piece 18. tening bolts forthe hinge 100. Screw bolts 104 are intended to close other undesirableholes, which will be produced in the hull of ship at the time ofwithdrawing the screw bolts 12, fastening the planks 2 bearing theseparate torpedo guards to the hull of ship 1. Chains 105 receive eyes104 of the screw bolts 104 and are attached to the hull of ship 1 bywood screws with eyes 106 to pre= vent the losing of these necessaryscrew bolts.

Torpedo guards must be inspected from time to time, especially in timeof war, to insure a successful action in a time of neces sity, and thisprocedure, on account of simple constructive features of the device, isa quick and an easy job.

To protect parts of torpedo guards from the action of sea water sai'dparts must be coated correspondingly. The wooden parts must be paintedwith some waterproof paint, and the metallic parts must be painted orcoated with some metal resisting the action of sea water; sliding partsmust be kept well greased to insure better results. It is apparent thatthe plunger-s 15 may be lubricated at any time from inside of ship afterunscrewing the screw bolts 23. The piston 30, as well as the inside ofthe cylinder 31, must be well greased in time of assembling parts ofsaid cylinder to prevent any rusting. The longitudinal grooves 28 insideof the cylinder 10, as well as the grooves 32 inside of. the cylinder 31and a circumferential groove 33 of the piston 30, must be well filledwith before mentioned half solid grease to insure an easy sliding of theplungers 15 and the piston 30. i

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages andnovel features of my device, which forces the unexploded torpedo awayfrom the ship, will be readily apparent. The device can be very usefulfor the costly war ships, because "the damage from a torpedo, if someoccur, can not be, as was explained before, a great one, thus preventinga sinking of the costly war ship. The device can be also useful as aguard from mines and other floating dangers for the ships.

The using of my device will be also not very detrimental, because everyexplosion of the cartridge destroys only movable and less costly partsof the device, the cylinders 16 for the plunger-s 15, as well as thefiring cylinder 30, will be probably not damaged at all, and the brokenflanged ring 45 may be replaced by a new one. 1

Screw bolts 102 and 103 are fas- At present some torpedoes are suppliedwith a lance head, that can go through the commonly used nets, so makingnets alone almost useless; said nets are kept steadily around the shipsand at a considerable distance, so diminishing the velocity of the ship,but my device is kept close to the ship at a distance about one foot andhalf, so not very diminishing the velocity of the ship.

Besides this, my device, as was explained before, is composed ofseparate members fastened to the separate planks 2, that may be easilyand quickly fastened to the hull of ship 1 by four screw bolts 42 andmaybe evenly quick removed from the hull, thus making the keeping of thedevice steadily around the ship not a necessary matter in time of peace.

Some torpedoes are supplied with gun barrels, loaded with an explosiveprojectile, and for such kinds of torpedoes my device is more usefulthan the commonly used nets, on account of the considerable yieldingmeans of the nets and of the shields and on account of a con'iparativelymild primary action of the gases and of the water on the war head of thetorpedo, due to the counteractions of the currents of water driven bythe moving torpedo and of the currents of water thrown by the force ofthe explosion of the cartridge or the cartridges, as has been explainedbefore.

I desire it to be understood that I may make slight changes in theconstruction and in the combination and arrangement of the severalparts, provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appendedclaims.

What I claim is" 1. A shield for ships comprising a plurality ofseparate shields yieldingly carried by the hull, and explosive meansassociated with the shields to be exploded by the backward movement ofthe shields.

2. A shield for ships comprising a plurality of separate shieldsyieldingly carried by the hull, a plurality of plungers carried by theshields, cylinders associated with the hull and receiving said plungers,springs for holding the plunger-s in their outward position, explosivemeans carried by some cylinders and firing means associated with someplungers for exploding the charge.

3. A shield for ships comprising a plurality of separate shieldsyieldingly carried by the hull, cylinders associated with the hull,plungers secured tothe shields and sliding in said cylinders, somecylinders having a portion for receiving an explosive charge, pistonsconnected with some plunger-s and sliding in suitably enlargedcylinders, a spring in said enlarged cylinder for holding both pistonand plungers in position, firing means connected with the piston forexploding the charge and constructive means producing a breakage ofaffected shield at midtill Cal

dleitolopen ,way ,to :the products Ofi-QX'PIQSlOIl to actlnpon thetorpedo.

shield for ships comprisingaplurality ofseparatershields yieldinglycarried by the hull, portions of every shield being of unequal strengthto afford a breakage of shield at,,middleunder action of explodedCharge, explosive means associated with every shield-to be exploded bythe backward HIOVQlllBIlt of affected shield to remove the torpedo awayfrom the ship, entangling means for the tiring mechanism of torpedo toprevent, an explosion-ofthe same; a looking contrivancc of device andsystem of links to-operatesaid locking contrivance.

5. Ashield tor-ships comprising a'plurality ofiseparate shieldsyieldingly carried by the hull, nets in front of every ,SlliBlClilSSO-ciated therewith, cylinders combined With thejlnillof ship, plungersassociated with, the Shields and sliding-in said cylinders,spring means,foriholding-the plungers in their outward position, explosive meanscarried by somecylinders, firing means. associated with corresponding,plungers *lor exploding the charge ;;a locking-contrivanee for theplungersand. system of links to operate said-locking cont'rivance.

6. Ashield for ships comprising apluralityvotseparateshields yieldinglycarried by the hull, yielding nets in trontof the shields associatedtherewith, spring means producing said yielding of the nets, cylinderspenetrating r the ,hull of ship, plunger-s secured to the shields andsliding in said cylinders, centralicylinders being enlarged and havingan extension for receiving an explosive charge, a piston connected withthe central plunger and slidinginan enlargedicylinder, a spring insaidcylinder for holding piston in position, firing means connected withthe .piston fOIZQXIflOtllIIQ the charge, constructive means producing abreakage-of affected shield at middle toopen way to the products ofexplosion to act upon the torpedo; a locking contrivance for theplunger-s, system of, links to operate said contrivance and operatingleverassociated with the'links and vwith said contrivance.

.7. A. shield for ships comprising a plnrality of separate shieldsassociated with separate planks, said planks reinovably stastBTlQCl? tothe hull of ship, yielding means forzsaid shields to accomplish anignition of .an explosive associated therewith, constructive means 'to.produce a breakage of a'tl ecte d shield at.middletoopen Way tortheproducts of explosion to act-upon the torpedo, yielding nets in .frontof every shield associatedtherewith, said (nets composed ofinterengaging rings to entangle the firing mechanism'o'ftorpedoto'prevent an explosioniof. the same, cylinders penetrating the hull ofshipand means to make this penct *ating vatertlghtvand safe forship,plung ers, securedv tothe shields I and sliding; in said hull cylinders,central vcylinders. being enlarged and having an extension for:receiving an explosive charge, a piston connected: With the central,plungerandj sliding in Said enlarged cylinder, aflangedringinlthewenlarged cylinder to retain-the outward:movementofipistomsaidringwith flanges of'unequal strength to generate afturningmoment of the piston under action of exploded charge, a spring inenlarged cylinder for holding the piston;andplungers in their-outwardposition, firing means connected with the piston Jtor igniting thecharge; .a locking contrivance inside oi ship to stop movements oi theplunger-s to prevent an ignition of thecharge,said contrivanceabeinginshape of bolts screwed into collars embracing separate cylinders :lorthe ,plungers, system of ,links to operate said ,contrivance from insideoi ship by levc1', andmeans :to

stop movement of saidvlever.

S. A. shield for ships comprising a'plurality of separate shields,associated :Wlliil'l separate planks, said planks :removably lfElS-tencd :to the hull of ship, reinforcing'bars for the shields, yieldingmeans 'for :the

shieldstoproduce an explosionof thecharge.

associated therewith by energy :of water driven by movingtorpedo or byincombined energyotwater. and torpedo, constructive meansifor'brealmgmofaffected shield atmid-i dlclo open way to the products of explosion toact upon the torpedo, nets in front of separate shields associatedtherewith .to entangle .the:iiringmechanism of torpedo, said netscomposed of interengaging rings and fastened ;to the frame held 'inposition by springsassociat-ed with said frame and with the shield,cylinders penetrating the hull of ship and means .to make thisenetrating watertight and safe .for ship, plungers secured to:theseparate shields and sliding :in mentionedcylinders and lubricatingmeans for the same, central cylinders being enlarged and havingcanextension for receiving an explosivercharge, a piston connected withcentral plunger and sliding. .in the enlarged cylinderand lubricatingmeans forrthe same, a flanged ring in the enlarged cylinder toretainithe outwardmovement of'piston, said ring with flanges, of unequalstrength to generate a durning moment :of piston undcr action of Iexploded charge, a shock absorbing and Watertight coveringi'or saidpiston, a spring in enlarged cylinder for holding the piston andplungers in their outward position, and firing means connected withthepiston .ior exp'lodingthe charge; a-looking contrivance insideofshipfor-theplungers to preventan ignition'oi? the charge, saidcontrivanee in shape of bolts sliding in correspondingholes ofcylindcrs;for plungers,

said bolts screwed into collars aembracing athe separate cylinders,system OfillllkSkl'Ild lever meager to operate said locking contrivancefrom in side of ship, push bolt to hold lever in its looking orunlocking posit-ion and spring means to alleviate operating 01. said.lever.

9. A shield for ships comprising a plurality of separate shields spacedsufliciently to permit independent movements of every one, said shieldsassociated with separate planks, said planks removably fastened to thehull of ship, springing diagonal bars for the shields, reinforcing platefor the shield with holes in middle to afford a breakage of the shieldat middle by force of explosion of the charge, yielding means for theshields to accomplish an explosion of the charge associated therewith byenergy of water driven by moving torpedo or by combined energy of waterand torpedo, yielding nets in front of separate shields associated therewith to entangle the firing mechanism of torpedo, said nets composed ofinterengaging rings and fastened to a springing frame, said frame heldin position by spring associated with the frame and with the shield,cylinders penetrating the hull of ship and means to make thispenetrating watertight and safe for ship, plungers secured to the shieldand sliding in said hull cylinders and lubricating means for the same,central cylinders being enlarged and having an extension for receivingan explosive charge, a piston connected with central plunger and slidingin said enlarged cylinder and lubrieating means for this cylinder andfor the piston, a flanged. ring in said cylinder to re tain the outwardmovement of piston, said ring with flanges of unequal strength togenerate a turning moment of the piston under action of exploded charge,a shock absorbing and watertight covering for the piston, a spring inthe enlarged cylinder for holding the piston and the plungers in theiroutward position, firing means to keep said charge and explosive capperfectly dry; a locking contrivance inner of ship to stop movements ofthe plungers to prevent an explosion of the charge, said contrivance inshape of bolts sliding in corresponding holes of cylinders for plungers,said bolts screwed into collars embracing said cylinders, system oflinks to operate locking contrivance from inside of ship by a lever,push bolt to hold said lever in its looking or unlocking posi tion andspring joined with the lever to alleviate operating of this lever.

Signed at Fernwood, in the county of Benewah, and State of Idaho, this21 day of September, 1920.

JOHN GREENWICH.

